Leaving The Darkness Behind
by Shadows Concealed In Darkness
Summary: One-shot. Kaiba finds a notebook filled with drawings and depressing lyrics. It turns out it belongs to Yami. Why does Yami keep these lyrics in the back of his notebook? Kaiba's set to find out. Yami's answer makes Kaiba see him in a new way. This's an idea I got a while back. Slightly fluffy Prideshipping towards the end if you look for it. Please R&R and enjoy. :)


**A./N. Kaiba doesn't like to admit that Yami is separate from Yugi, so that's why he thinks of him as 'the other Yugi' at first. OMG enjoy the crappy fluffiness towards the end! :D**

It was one of the few days that Seto Kaiba bothered to come to school that he was coming out of class and came across a notebook. The cover was a dark blue, almost purple, color and it had crazy doodles everywhere. Kaiba had found it on the ground by the door and was now wondering just who the hell it belonged to. Deciding that opening it might give him the owner's identity, he opened the front cover to reveal a beautifully drawn picture of a Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Kaiba almost gasped as he saw it, the dragon looked so real he thought it might come off the page. He flipped through the pages, finding only notes and doodles, until he came to another well drawn picture, this time of a Dark Magician. The magician looked ready to attack, his staff pointed foward, and his arm was held out. Kaiba saw that this person drew amazingly well. On the next page was a drawing of the illustration on the 'Change Of Heart' Duel Monsters card with beautiful shading. Kaiba could also see that this person liked Duel Monster quite a bit. Flipping through some more notes and beautiful drawings, Kaiba reached the back of the notebook. There, on the back cover, was the following: *italics*

_Property of Yami Mouto at the Kame Game Shop. If found please return there._

_Oh, so it's the other Yugi's notebook. Huh? What's this..?_

Kaiba glanced at the page opposite to the back cover and saw a bunch of lyrics from different songs put together. His eyes widened. What caught Kaiba's attention was that all the lyrics were dark and depressing. He looked over them, confused as to why the other Yugi had them in his notebook. This is what was on the page:

_What I've done, to face myself,_  
_This world will never be what I expected, and if I don't belong,_  
_Save me from the darkness I've become,_  
_It's not too late, it's never too late,_  
_I'm loosing my sight, loosing my mind, wish somebody would tell me I'm fine,_  
_Madness is the gift that has been given to me,_  
_Bring me to life,_  
_Cuz I'd rather feel pain then nothing at all,_  
_I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems, got to open my eyes to everything,_  
_I'm running and I'm crying,_  
_Let's start a riot,_  
_I'm about to break,_  
_Don't let me die here,_  
_But in the end, it doesn't even matter._

Kaiba closed the notebook and set out to find the other Yugi. A few minutes later he found him alone by the vending machine, angrily trying to get a soda can out. He looked up at Kaiba, forgetting the soda can, and saw his notebook.

"Hey, thank you Kaiba! I've been looking for it everywhere!"

Kaiba handed him the notebook, suddenly feeling angry because of what he saw in the notebook.

"Yugi, what's with the song lyrics you have in your notebook?"

They other Yugi's head shot up as he looked angrily at Kaiba.

"You looked through my stuff! And I'm not Yugi, you should know that by now. Everyone else calls me Yami."

"Whatever. Besides, how else was I supposed to figure out it was yours?", answered Kaiba.

"Still, you didn't have to look."

"Well now that I HAVE I want to know what those lyrics are all about.", persisted Kaiba.

Yami sighed and turned to look the other way.

"It's none of your buisness! Just go home and let me be!"

Kaiba wasn't going to leave that easily. He was stubborn.

"I don't care! Something's up with you and I want to know what!"

Suddenly Yami turned to face him.

"Why? Why do you want to know damn so badly? Why would _you_ care?"

Kaiba stared him down.

"Because...I'm your friend...and I want to help dammit!"

Yami sighed angrily and beckoned Kaiba closer

"Listen, I'll tell you, okay? But don't tell Yugi, I don't want him to worry."

Kaiba nodded as Yami continued.

"As you know, but are too stubborn to acknowledge, I came from inside the Millennium Puzzle when Yugi put it back together."

Kaiba grunted but said nothing more.

"Well, what do you think it was LIKE inside the puzzle? What do you think it was like for me for 5,000 years while I was in there? Before Yugi manage to complete the puzzle?", asked Yami, his voice rising, "How do you think I felt while in there? You have no IDEA of the darkness, the loneliness, the complete and utter absence of knowing who you even are! Imagine being in an empty, darkened room, all by yourself! Imagine not even knowing who the hell you are for 5,000 fucking years! Wondering when it will end, when you'll be free, when you'll be able to get out of that nightmare!", Yami was now yelling while Kaiba remained silent, just looking at him.

"But then, it began to end. I could tell Yugi was beginning to solve to the puzzle, I could feel it. It took him 8 years to do it, but he never gave up. Then, I was finally free. I was finally out of that dark, lonely room. But not entirely. Not yet. My mind was still an endless maze of questions. When I came out, I saw people wronging Yugi and his friends. So I set to making them pay. Even you wronged Yugi, many, many times. And I made you pay Kaiba."  
Kaiba winced at the memory of when Yami mind crushed him. Then he realized, he DID know how it felt to be in the dark, alone. He had had to rebuild his heart when Yami's mind crush shattered it into puzzle pieces, by himself, in the darkness. He had hated every second of it, but it had paid off. Mokuba no longer feared him and he could tell he didn't want revenge on Yugi as psychotic as before. Yami continued as he thought of this.

"At first, I thought I was just a part of Yugi, brought on by his wish on the puzzle. But after Duelist Kingdom, I began to doubt that. Then, my wondering began again. I still didn't know who I was! And I wandered around in the maze of the puzzle for hours on end, aimlessly searching for my _real _soul room. But Yugi and our friends helped me to find out who I really was. It was like stepping into the light after years of darkness Kaiba. When Yugi suggested I go to school and got me a notebook, I saw that I enjoyed drawing. I downloaded music on my laptop and some of the lyrics made me remember of my time in the puzzle, in the darkness, in the maze of my mind. So I wrote them down here, in my notebook, because I never want to forget my time in the darkness, because I don't want to forget how lucky I am to be out of it. Maybe someday I can leave that darkness behind me, but for now I can't. That's my reason Kaiba. Make what you will of it"

Kaiba had listened intently the entire time, and now realized the importance of those lyrics to Yami. How they reminded him that he was out of the darkness. Kaiba smiled at Yami, silently impressed by him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't fully realize what your notebook and those lyrics meant to you. I do now though.'

_Did Kaiba just...apologize...?_

"Oh, and Yami?"

"Yes..?"

"I hope you see me as more of a friend now. I think I do now."

Yami smiled back at Kaiba and nodded.

"Yeah. I think _I_ do too."

The two stared intently at each other for a moment, then began walking home together. No longer as rivals, but more as friends.


End file.
